PUEBLO – Coloradans living within the boundaries of Front Range rail taxing district are one election away from seeing their sales taxes significantly increased to raise nearly $300 million per year to fund a commuter rail service connecting Fort Collins to Pueblo.
The Colorado Connector, coined “CoCo” for short, was created in 2021 with expectations to have trains rolling by 2029.
On Friday, the Front Range Passenger Rail District board voted 14-1 to place a tax hike on the November ballot, to include voters in Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Sterling Ranch, Littleton, Denver, Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville, Boulder, Longmont, Loveland and Fort Collins. The question assesses a .333 percent sales tax (about 3 cents on every $10 spent), with no sunset provision, and exempt from the revenue limits under the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) amendment.
Board Member Cory Applegate was the only no vote. He did not comment on his decision.
Paying for other people’s rides
There was nearly no opposition in the room at the hearing on Friday, with nearly all who spoke offering anecdotal examples of why this was a great idea, citing excitement over the idea of passenger rail extending more than 200 miles across Colorado.
Most claimed, without evidence, the new train would remove vehicles from highways and increase travel capacity.
One Jefferson County resident, however, did speak against it. Lakewood resident Natalie Menton, citing her eight years as an elected board member on the Regional Transportation District (RTD), said this rail service would be no different than RTD, where many would pay for the few who ride, and in many cases those who actually ride would not be those who pay.
“I realized the return on investment doesn’t always measure what the promises are,” she said about her time on the RTD board. “In this case … it became very concerning that some communities were being tied into the sales tax measure, while others somehow were opted out.”
Menton was referring to language in the resolution that is in line with a bill passed during the past legislative session where lawmakers removed the population centers of Greeley, Lone Tree, Monument, and Castle Rock from the original plan – all more conservative communities that would likely not support the tax increase, despite being commuter communities.
Menton argued that she should not have to pay for something she will not use, while residents in some communities along the line will have access without having to pay the tax.
“I’m opposed to something I will be paying for on a daily basis, but rarely if ever will use,” she said.
CoCo board member and treasurer Louis Lopez disagreed partly with Menton, claiming the benefits of the project will be “delivered to people who won’t take the train.” However, he also admitted there will be benefits to those who don’t pay the tax as well.
Transit in decline
The lofty CoCo tax plan comes despite the current failures of Colorado’s other commuter rails systems such as RTD, which continues to struggle with ongoing decreases in ridership and a projected $215 million deficit in its 2027 budget. In July, the RTD board voted to decrease transit services system-wide, despite having its own dedicated sales tax.
The service area of CoCo encompasses a population of about 2 million people. By comparison RTD serves a population of just more than 3 million people and includes many of the same communities, excepting Pueblo and Colorado Springs on the south and Loveland and Fort Collins on the north.
Those who live in overlapping communities will be responsible for taxes in both districts. RTD currently has a 1 percent sales tax.
In an analysis published in Complete Colorado, Randal O’Toole, director of transportation policy at Independence Institute, a free market think tank in Denver, says CoCo will likely have the same problems as RTD and others.
“Front Range Rail is not going to relieve traffic congestion. It is not going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is going to be a huge money sink, costing a lot more than projected, and it probably won’t operate until long after projected,” writes O’Toole. “Almost no rail passenger project in the last 60 years was done on time or under the originally projected cost; cost overruns of 50 to 100 percent are typical.”
Colorado’s general election is November 3.
